Did you have to adjust to Michael's new sound when dangerous got released?

My thoughts upon hearing the 'Dangerous' album initially were that the album included many unnecessary things.

For example:

- the 17-second intro of 'Why You Wanna Trip On Me'
- the 35-second intro of 'In The Closet'
- the 17-second intro of 'Can't Let Her Get Away'
- the 20-second intro of 'Dangerous' (the song)
- the 20-second intro of 'Who Is It'
- the spoken intro of 'Black Or White'
- the classical prelude intro of 'Will You Be There'

The 'Dangerous' song also dragged on unnecessarily (toward its end) for more than a minute.

Also, 'Gone Too Soon' served no purpose at all on that album.

'Remember The Time' sounded very ordinary, even worse the 'She Drives Me Wild' and 'Can't Let Her Get Away' songs which both sounded too inferior and cheap.

Also, it struck me as odd that the 'Why You Wanna Trip On Me', 'Remember The Time', 'Who Is It', 'Will You Be There' titles did not have a question mark printed at the end.

But the album had few good things, for example:

When the 'Jam' began to play, it came as a shock to me and I almost passed out.

'In The Closet' was another good song that stood out immediately for me.

'Give In To Me' was another good song that stood out immediately for me, and I also liked the fact how his feminine-sounding voice contrasted with the harsh guitar sounds of that hard rock song.

That was exactly my point.

Michael Jackson never set any trends musically.

Even with his new, studio album (that he was working on in his final years) he showed that he was about to follow musical trends for one more time.

One has to look at the producers that he chose to work with on that album (in his final years): will.i.am, Neff-U, RedOne, etc, were all very safe choices as producers because they used to produce songs/hits (at that time) with a sound that the audience was already very familiar with.
Is there anything of MJs you actually do like?
 
Michael Jackson never set any trends musically.
Neither have most other mainstream music stars. Many of the people who set musical trends were lesser known musicians such as Larry Graham, who invented the slap bass style. James Jamerson also influenced bass playing. Guitarists like Charlie Christian. Les Paul, & Robert Johnson were important to later players and so are Steve Hackett from Genesis & Eddie Van Halen. I would say James Brown has influenced more music genres than The Beatles and he was nowhere near as popular. Tom Moulton is one of the first remixers during the disco era. Miles Davis & John Coltrane are big influences too. If you listen to southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd & Marshall Tucker Band, there a lot of jazz elements in their music. Kraftwerk is the main source for modern electronic dance music. Kraftwerk is an influence on some early hip hop (Planet Rock) & 1980s R&B bands like Midnight Star. They were called electrofunk. Hip hop itself is a big influence on modern music, there's even hip hop sounds in current mainstream country music and a lot of movie trailers have rap songs playing, no matter what the movie is about. Even that recent Elvis Presley movie & the soundtrack has rap, and hip hop had not been around in Elvis heyday. Although there were many songs before Rappers Delight in 1979 that have rap cadences. Hip hop is not just an influence on music, but fashion too.
 
What matters more with musical influence is that other singers & instrumentalists know about another musician. It does not matter if the general public has heard of them or if they sold a lot of records. The musicians, producers, & arrangers are the ones making the records. It's like more people has heard of the blues because of Eric Clapton & Led Zeppelin. Many of their fans might not know of the Black blues players who they got their sound from. It was the original guys like Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, & B.B. King that are the influence, not Eric Clapton per se. Clapton got the promotion & radio airplay that the black blues musicians didn't, so of course he sold way more and is more famous. The white rock guys played in the big places like Madison Square Garden, when their influences mainly played in chitlin' circuit juke joints. Without George Martin, The Beatles records would have likely have been much different. George Martin took a chance on them in the first place when they had been turned down by other labels, That high note that singers such as Mariah Carey, Shanice, & Chanté Moore does - that came from Minnie Riperton. Minnie is not that well known today and she is considered a "one hit wonder" as far as the mainstream Top 40 goes, but she had several R&B hits.
 
That high note that singers such as Mariah Carey, Shanice, & Chanté Moore does - that came from Minnie Riperton. Minnie is not that well known today and she is considered a "one hit wonder" as far as the mainstream Top 40 goes, but she had several R&B hits.

And there is a great song featuring Michael, released shortly after her death:
 
to me, Dangerous is the best album ever released. nothing comes close to this. better than Thriller + Bad together (which are already perfect).

mindblowing songs for me on first listen:
1) Jam
2) Dangerous
3) Who is it

I also love Why You Wanna Trip On Me and She Drives Me Wild.
 
And there is a great song featuring Michael, released shortly after her death:
I have this album (but the video is blocked in my country, lol). What's ironic about this, is that some Michael Jackson fans complain about Xscape having remixes and modern singers like Justin Timberlake dubbing new vocals. That Minnie Riperton album is the same thing and Mike participated on it. It was songs Minnie was working on before she passed, but they took her vocals, recorded some new musical backing and had then popular singers do duets or background vocals. The songs were not originally collaborations.
 
No. I didn't need to adjust. Remember the time was my favourite song, Jam too, It was an exciting album and a big friggin deal when it came out, I will always remember the night the Black or White video aired on TV it was an event! My cousin taped the album for me in Nov 1991 until i could get my real copy at Christmas. I remember hearing it for the first time. My mother kept fast forwarding to find Black or white. I was going nuts telling her to let it play out :) we actually sat around and listened to it as a family :)I also had a gigantic Dangerous poster that my dad's friend gave him, it was from a bus stop advertisement. Unfortunately that excitement will never be seen again.
 
I have this album (but the video is blocked in my country, lol). What's ironic about this, is that some Michael Jackson fans complain about Xscape having remixes and modern singers like Justin Timberlake dubbing new vocals. That Minnie Riperton album is the same thing and Mike participated on it. It was songs Minnie was working on before she passed, but they took her vocals, recorded some new musical backing and had then popular singers do duets or background vocals. The songs were not originally collaborations.
Just like the Tupac album Loyal to the Game. An album of Tupac outtakes reworked by Eminem.
 
No. I didn't need to adjust. Remember the time was my favourite song, Jam too, It was an exciting album and a big friggin deal when it came out, I will always remember the night the Black or White video aired on TV it was an event! My cousin taped the album for me in Nov 1991 until i could get my real copy at Christmas. I remember hearing it for the first time. My mother kept fast forwarding to find Black or white. I was going nuts telling her to let it play out :) we actually sat around and listened to it as a family :)I also had a gigantic Dangerous poster that my dad's friend gave him, it was from a bus stop advertisement. Unfortunately that excitement will never be seen again.
I really get this.
Nov 14th 1991 on Top of the Pops, i saw the premier. ..and on channel 4. yeah it was a huge deal - I remember Mtv...Video dj Ray Cokes playing the premier of Remember the Time. I wanted so desperately the posters and Michael cardboard stand ups in the HMV store front etc .
I know the exact type of excitement with the bus stop poster your'e talking about , you lucky thing seanc. You must have been so thrilled when you got it. -It will never be seen again . i think your words here are worthy of a tattoo lol
 
I personally as a kid pretty much embraced the new hard sound from the get go. I have to admit though maybe this is happened because I bought the album later on after a couple of single releases. So I had time to adjust to it through the release of the singles and videos. By the time I bought the album I think I already new most of the tracks.
The change in sound was pretty soft for the audience who only knew his single releases. Black or white and remember the time are pretty standard MJ pop songs. When the NJS singles got released we see a steep decline in single sales which could mean the general audience was not ready for the change in style. When later on heal the world and will you be there were released single sales overall picked up again, this could possibly mean the public did not really like his NJS sound?

How did you experience the new sound in 1991/1992? Disappointment? Excitement?

Something I remember as a kid, younger teen is that I was never sure what to expect. MJ released a new single or album and all I could think was "what will it sound like?" It was completely unpredictable. One single could be a gospel anthem and the next could be hard rock. It was very exciting to be a fan in the 90s thanks to the versatility.
I remember when "they don't care about us" debuted on the radio (I again did not have the album from early on) I was so exited thinking to myself " what the fuck is this sound?" I completely loved it and had never heard anything like it.
I have a funny story that my brother relayed to me about his first experience with the dangerous album.

So I come from a family that were big Michael fans. My sister saw him in Gothenburg in 88, my oldest brother saw him in Stockholm in 92 and my other brother, who I am referring to in this post saw him in Gothenburg 97. For all intents and purposes I inherited everything MJ from them. So my brother one day told me about the day he and his friend bought and listened to the dangerous album. To this day his favorite album is Bad and he became a real fan after hearing that album. So him and his friend, bubbling with excitement put on the cd and pressed play. Jam comes on. Jam plays. Jam ends. They paused the record. He said they sat there in absolute silence not knowing how to process what they heard. He said it was so different from what they experienced with bad that they didn’t know how to feel about it. He specifically mentioned the brasses and the stab hits and the overall production being overwhelming. There was so much stuff going on and their minds went everywhere at once. After they had to adjust to this tonal difference and got more into it after listening to that song a couple of more times. He said they pretty much had this reaction for all of the NJS songs on Dangerous. Funny enough, Jam and In The Closet ended up being not only his favorite songs in the record but all time favorite songs from MJ’s discography.
 
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So my brother one day told me about the day he and his friend bought and listened to the dangerous album. To this day his favorite album is Bad and he became a real fan after hearing that album. So him and his friend, bubbling with excitement put on the cd and pressed play. Jam comes on. Jam plays. Jam ends. They paused the record. He said they sat there in absolute silence not knowing how to process what they heard. He said it was so different from what they experienced with bad that they didn’t know how to feel about it. He specifically mentioned the brasses and the stab hits and the overall production being overwhelming. There was so much stuff going on and their minds went everywhere at once. After they had to adjust to this tonal difference and got more into after a listening to that song a couple of more times. He said they pretty much had this reaction for all of the NJS songs on Dangerous. Funny enough, Jam and In The Closet ended up being not only his favorite songs in the record but all time favorite songs from MJ’s discography.
Yeah. That could also be my story.
 
I really get this.
Nov 14th 1991 on Top of the Pops, i saw the premier. ..and on channel 4. yeah it was a huge deal - I remember Mtv...Video dj Ray Cokes playing the premier of Remember the Time. I wanted so desperately the posters and Michael cardboard stand ups in the HMV store front etc .
I know the exact type of excitement with the bus stop poster your'e talking about , you lucky thing seanc. You must have been so thrilled when you got it. -It will never be seen again . i think your words here are worthy of a tattoo lol
I'll never forget it :) TOTP and I think Sky 1 did an MJ special if I remember correctly and showed it too. I was thrilled. My dad got 3, one for me my sister and my cousin i wish i still had it. When the Dangerous tour rolled into Dublin in July 92 my aunt worked in the Berkley Court Hotel (Now gone) it was the top hotel here at the time and Michael stayed there, she was able to get me Dangerous tour hats. Nearly got me tickets too for the concert but i was too young to go :( my mam was scared i'd be crushed or hurt but we got to see the History Tour.
:) Ray Cokes hahah now your bringing me back, i kept my taped MTV Mj weekend vhs's for years, i may still have some, they'd probably explode if i tried to play them :) those were the days :)

 
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I'll never forget it :) TOTP and I think Sky 1 did an MJ special if I remember correctly and showed it too. I was thrilled. My dad got 3, one for me my sister and my cousin i wish i still had it. When the Dangerous tour rolled into Dublin in July 92 my aunt worked in the Berkley Court Hotel (Now gone) it was the top hotel here at the time and Michael stayed there, she was able to get me Dangerous tour hats. Nearly got me tickets too for the concert but i was too young to go :( my mam was scared i'd be crushed or hurt but we got to see the History Tour.
:) Ray Cokes hahah now your bringing me back, i kept my taped MTV Mj weekend vhs's for years, i may still have some, they'd probably explode if i tried to paly them :) those were the days :)
just found this on youtube,,, I guess the sky one thing was the night before on the Wednesday. TOTP was on the Thursday :)
 
I'll never forget it :) TOTP and I think Sky 1 did an MJ special if I remember correctly and showed it too. I was thrilled. My dad got 3, one for me my sister and my cousin i wish i still had it. When the Dangerous tour rolled into Dublin in July 92 my aunt worked in the Berkley Court Hotel (Now gone) it was the top hotel here at the time and Michael stayed there, she was able to get me Dangerous tour hats. Nearly got me tickets too for the concert but i was too young to go :( my mam was scared i'd be crushed or hurt but we got to see the History Tour.
:) Ray Cokes hahah now your bringing me back, i kept my taped MTV Mj weekend vhs's for years, i may still have some, they'd probably explode if i tried to paly them :) those were the days :)
I love how his art touched us all and reading all our stories and sharing the memories we have. Ah , yes the VHS Michael weekends seanc..sitting and recording EVERYTHING . Bart haha ! i still remember i love you man line . Again , i loved Bart already , i was bart - we were all bart! - we were kids lol and this one guy was sort of fitting into everything i liked already and well , he dominated cable / sky, and the sky glossy tv guides , - everything about this "dangerous" dude was coming , it was a huge deal , i honestly didn't realise this dangerous dude was Michael Jackson from moon walker... :rolleyes: who my primary school friends used to like. ..THIS MYSTERY DANGEROUS GUY HAD GRIT... Same. i couldn't go to Dangerous , wasn't allowed -although my aunt went with her kids.
Ive still got a stack of VHS too. i tried to collect every single thing . My fandom was a series of "things" and paper . Those Dangerous hats must have been so cool . Merch was so sought after . Those days rocked . Truly special. i'm so glad i got to experience true magical art form with the cool " mad, bad and dangerous to know " Michael Jackson guy.
 

i was watching channel 4 and usually there would be who's line is it anyway and Rosaanne which i was an avid watcher of , had already cared for twin peaks - and i was instantly fixated when this came out of nowhere between those shows. i was like .Woooooah it's the ....RED ROOM !!!WHAAAAT?.what the f was that? ? " as his sphere got closer...
i literally have David Lynch , John Landis and Teddy Riley to thanx for my fandom cause they made me aware of Michael Jackson. Everything fit . nothing disappointed me , i loved black or white because he was carrying a message which i very much believed in already, the short film visuals were out of this world and relatable since i too, wanted my dad to fly ten thousand feet in the air ...when he said my rock music was too loud . michael's sound worked for me now - plus he sounded shouty - a little lot rockstar. another rebellious man to wind dad up -He was COOL now . I was really hooked and he became my muse.
 
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Always listen to your Mam! She knows best, lol. :)
True...the Ironic thing is when we did see the History tour...the moment that rocket burst outta the stage she nearly tore my arm out it's socket with excitement....and and my heart was in my mouth,,, it was a feeling i never had before or since... true excitement and nerves. My father had to tell us to calm down..it's only Michael:D
 
True...the Ironic thing is when we did see the History tour...the moment that rocket burst outta the stage she nearly tore my arm out it's socket with excitement
Your Mam ROCKS!

....and and my heart was in my mouth,,, it was a feeling i never had before or since... true excitement and nerves.
There you go. Best epitaph for Michael. That's what he was all about. 🧡

My father had to tell us to calm down..it's only Michael:D
omg! It was a Family Affair (geddit?). All going to the gig together! Love it.
 
All I get from mj_frenzy is some coded comments. In the past, he has said R&B is boring, funk is repetitive, & New Jack Swing is beneath what Mike should be doing. He also said that rock n roll artists sold more than R&B artists because rock is better music. He also talks about melody a lot. In general, melody tends to be more from European based music because that's where pianos & classical music are from. Music from Africa is more rhythmic or based on drumming, the people in African countries dance to it. Look at James Brown's music, funk is rhythmic. James was also popular in some African countries during the 1970s. The African drumming also had codes in it, and so did their lyrics. That's why when they were brought over to North & South America during the slave trade, the masters tried to kill their culture.
 
Great question! I've always wondered this. I wasn't born when it came out but I remember asking my mum about it

I remember my mum said it took a bit of an adjustment to get used to, but on the third or fourth play through she fell in love with it.
She loved ITC, RTT, WYBT and Dangerous on first listen though

I think it was Mike's new "quick voice", took some getting used to, but she grew to love it. I think Black Or White as first single didn't represent the album best, but made sense given it being one of the most radio friendly track on the record.
 
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Bad was the record I had to adjust to. It's sound was the one I overall had the hardest time getting accustom to. Yet now I consider it overall his strongest record.
 
Great question! I've always wondered this. I wasn't born when it came out but I remember asking my mum about it

I remember my mum said it took a bit of an adjustment to get used to, but on the third or fourth play through she fell in love with it.
She loved ITC, RTT, WYBT and Dangerous on first listen though

I think it was Mike's new "quick" voice, took some getting used to, but she grew to love it. I think Black Or White as first single didn't represent the album best, but made sense given it being one of the most radio friendly track on the record.
Black or white not being the first single ? ...that's a colourful thought. What single do you think represents Dangerous best then ? i am curious.
 
Neither have most other mainstream music stars. Many of the people who set musical trends were lesser known musicians such as Larry Graham, who invented the slap bass style. James Jamerson also influenced bass playing. Guitarists like Charlie Christian. Les Paul, & Robert Johnson were important to later players and so are Steve Hackett from Genesis & Eddie Van Halen. I would say James Brown has influenced more music genres than The Beatles and he was nowhere near as popular. Tom Moulton is one of the first remixers during the disco era. Miles Davis & John Coltrane are big influences too. If you listen to southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd & Marshall Tucker Band, there a lot of jazz elements in their music. Kraftwerk is the main source for modern electronic dance music. Kraftwerk is an influence on some early hip hop (Planet Rock) & 1980s R&B bands like Midnight Star. They were called electrofunk. Hip hop itself is a big influence on modern music, there's even hip hop sounds in current mainstream country music and a lot of movie trailers have rap songs playing, no matter what the movie is about. Even that recent Elvis Presley movie & the soundtrack has rap, and hip hop had not been around in Elvis heyday. Although there were many songs before Rappers Delight in 1979 that have rap cadences. Hip hop is not just an influence on music, but fashion too.
Yet, there are many Michael Jackson fans who believe that he set musical trends.

Apparently these fans mistake blending different genres (on a given song) for setting musical trends.

One can say that the field in which Michael Jackson may have set trends is the music video field.

Until the releases of his music videos from the 'Thriller' album, most prior music videos (from other artists/bands) had small budgets, low-level production values and little to non-existent narrative/story lines.

Michael Jackson's music videos (from that album) appeared to have begun a transformation in this regard (i.e., music videos made of deep narratives/story lines, sophisticated visuals, more elaborate choreography).

It is also said that his 'Thriller' music video in particular popularized the making-of documentaries (and the releases of such documentaries), which in a sense is also setting a trend.
 
Black or white not being the first single ? ...that's a colourful thought. What single do you think represents Dangerous best then ? i am curious.
I'm not sure if I'm honest, perhaps Dangerous?

It's nothing against Black Or White but it's very safe choice, it doesn't really represent the New Jack Swing street edge to the Teddy tracks and it doesn't represent the more adult themes of, WII, GITM, WYBT

Black Or White was the right choice for first single but maybe releasing it earlier and then putting out Remember The Time before the album was released, might have helped people adjust to the new sound quicker. Similar strategy to the Bad Album?

I personally loved Dangerous from first listen
 
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